Pentagon Chief Pete Hegseth Pushes Christian Nationalist Rhetoric as War in Iran Escalates

Religious Rhetoric Floods Pentagon Under Hegseth

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth isn't hiding his Christian nationalist worldview -- he's broadcasting it from the Pentagon.

In a statement yesterday about rescued U.S. airmen shot down over Iran, Hegseth cast the operation in explicitly religious terms: "Shot down on a Friday. Good Friday, hidden in a cave, a crevice, all of Saturday and rescued on Sunday. Flown out of Iran as the sun was rising on Easter Sunday, a pilot reborn, all home and accounted for, a nation rejoicing. God is good."

The framing is deliberate. Under Hegseth's leadership, the Department of Defense has released videos overlaying Bible verses on footage of troops, tanks, and warships -- a conflation of religious authority with military power that would have been unthinkable in previous administrations.

Katherine Stewart, author of "Money, Lies, and God: Inside the Movement to Destroy American Democracy," says the pattern is unmistakable. "It's a kind of conflation of religion with military domination," Stewart told WBUR. "We've seen how he does this even on his own body. He has these neo-crusader tattoos that suggest a religious war."

Crusader Imagery and "Civilizational War"

Hegseth has appeared publicly with the Arabic word "Kafir" -- meaning "unbeliever" -- tattooed on his bicep. It's not a declaration of atheism. It's a provocation, positioning himself in explicit opposition to Islam.

In his book "American Crusader," Hegseth argues that America is engaged in a "civilizational war." That rhetoric now shapes how the Pentagon frames the conflict with Iran -- not as a geopolitical dispute over nuclear weapons or regional influence, but as part of a broader religious struggle.

"This religious rhetoric helps frame the war as part of that civilizational struggle," Stewart said. "The appeal to this religious rhetoric also has a kind of psychological attraction to brutality and cruelty and domination. Amongst Trump's base, many adhere to this idea of religion that, properly understood, is one of crushing of foes, of iron will, a kind of celebration of hyper-masculine violence."

A Muscular Jesus for a Militarized Faith

The version of Christianity that Hegseth promotes bears little resemblance to the teachings of the New Testament. At a recent White House dinner, Hegseth led a grace invoking Jesus as "the king of kings on his throne" -- a domination-driven vision of Christ that emphasizes power and conquest over mercy and compassion.

This "muscular Jesus" is central to Christian nationalist theology, which reimagines the faith as a vehicle for political and military dominance rather than spiritual transformation. It's a worldview that has gained significant traction within the Trump administration and among evangelical supporters who see the Iran conflict through an apocalyptic lens.

Listener questions submitted to WBUR reflect growing alarm about this influence. "You really need to talk about Pete Hegseth and Christian nationalists who are actually wanting a massive war with Iran on purpose because they want to trigger Armageddon," wrote Alexandra from Oregon.

Stewart in Hudson, Massachusetts, asked: "Is he telling his base that he was ready to start a Holy War in the Middle East?"

Military Complaints Mount

Military service members are now filing complaints about the religious justifications being offered for combat operations. The exact number and nature of these complaints remain unclear, but their existence signals discomfort within the ranks about the Pentagon's new direction.

Robert Jones, president of the Public Religion Research Institute and author of "Backslide: Reclaiming a Faith and a Nation After the Christian Turn Against Democracy," warns that Christian extremism is providing moral underpinnings for military escalation that might otherwise face greater scrutiny.

The pattern mirrors what happened in Iran after the 1979 revolution, when Ayatollah Khomeini consolidated power by purging opponents and slowly insinuating social change until religious extremism became the governing ideology. In both cases, charismatic leaders used religious rhetoric to justify authoritarian control and military aggression.

No Biblical Mandate for Holy War

Carolyn from Park City, Kentucky, cut to the heart of the theological problem: "There is nowhere in the Bible, especially in Jesus' teachings, that Jesus commands us to wage war against our enemies."

That inconvenient fact hasn't stopped Hegseth and other Christian nationalists from wrapping military action in religious language. The result is a dangerous fusion of faith and state power -- exactly what the founders sought to prevent with the First Amendment's establishment clause.

As the war in Iran escalates and casualties mount, the question isn't just about military strategy or geopolitical objectives. It's about whether religious fundamentalism will continue to provide moral cover for a conflict that serves no clear American interest beyond satisfying the apocalyptic fantasies of Christian nationalists in positions of power.